Category Archives: N. Advice

Shaikh Dr Ghulam Mohammed khalifa of Allama Syed Suleman Nadwi (Allah have mercy on them) wrote the following after performing Hajj in 1971 (1390 Hijri),

‘The number of people performing Hajj is increasing every year due to spreading affluence, ease of transportation and availability of luxuries in Haramain. However, the number of sincere individuals (performing Hajj correctly) is steadily decreasing.

In general the pilgrims are neglectful of the etiquettes (adab), their reverence (ta’zeem) and the requisite knowledge of the procedure (masail of Hajj).

True repentance after Hajj and desire of changing the sinful lifestyle to a virtuous one is nonexistent and has become a meaningless thought. ‘

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Grand-Mufti of Pakistan Mufti Mohammed Rafi’ Usmani (Allah preserve & protect him)advised seekers (performing eitikaf) that when returning to their respective cities/countries they should bring some gift for their family members.

Whatever actions we perform, such as prayers, fasting, Hajj, Zakah etc. are like a body. However there is a soul behind these actions without which these actions become useless in the Hereafter. The soul of all actions depends on three things:

1) Eeman, i.e. belief. This means that a person must be a Muslim for any action to be acceptable in the Court of Allah. Alhamdulillah Allah has given us Eeman. We must continue to ask Allah to protect and strengthen this Eeman.

Shaikh mentioned the following duas taught by the Prophet (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) related to this:

a) اللهم إني أسألك إيمانا يباشر قلبي

“O Allah! I ask you for Eeman which settles deep in my heart.”

b) اللهم اني أسالك إيماناً لا يرتد

“O Allah! I beg you for the Eeman which will not be shaken.”

c) اللهم اني أسالك إيماناً دائما

“O Allah! I beg you for perpetual Eeman.”

2) Ikhlas, i.e. sincerity. Normally Satan does not openly incite us to do an action just to show to others, as it is unlikely for a normal practicing Muslim to fall into this trap. However Satan attacks a person’s Ikhlas by telling him “What would people say if you don’t do this action”. As a result, the person may do some action to avoid being criticized by people, hence tainting the Ikhlas.

Shaikh mentioned that the reward of a single action can be increased if multiple intentions are made for it. For example, the following intentions can be made for eating or drinking:

a) I will make Shukr (gratitude) of Allah after eating/drinking.

b) I will be following the Sunnah of the Prophet (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him), as he would eat food when it was brought in front of him.

c) I will use the energy I get from this food in fulfilling the commandments of Allah.

Similarly several intentions can be combined in many daily actions. Since it is normally difficult to remember to make all these intentions each time before doing each action, an easy way of achieving this is to make all these intentions at the beginning of the day. Inshallah all these intentions will be rewarded in this way as well.

Beyond this, Shaikh explained that sometimes a person’s intention can be better than his action. He quoted a Hadith the gist of which is:
“A person will be brought on the Day of Judgment and angels will present his book of deeds. One by one all his good deeds will be rejected as they were not done for the sake of Allah. After all the deeds will be rejected, Allah will command the angels to write so and so good deeds in his record. The angels will remark that he had not performed those good deeds. At this Allah will say that he had made an intention to do them.”

Further, Shaikh explained the following Hadith regarding the benefits of good intentions and the dangers of bad intentions:

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘The likeness of this nation is that of four people: A man to whom Allah gives wealth and knowledge, so he acts according to his knowledge with regard to his wealth, spending it as it should be spent; a man to whom Allah gives knowledge, but he does not give him wealth, so he says: “If I had been given (wealth) like this one, I would have done what (the first man) did.” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘They will be equal in reward. And a man to whom Allah gives wealth but does not give knowledge, so he squanders his wealth and spends it in inappropriate ways; and a man to whom Allah gives neither knowledge nor wealth, and he says: “If I had (wealth) like this one, I would do what (the third man) did.” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘They are equal in their burden (of sin).’”

3) Sidq, which is a comprehensive word which includes the meanings that the actions must be in accordance with Sunnah. Shaikh gave examples that Wudu done with wastage of water would not have complete Sidq as wasting water during Wudu is prohibited even if Wudu is done at a flowing river.

It comes in a Prophetic saying (Hadith) the gist of which is that sitting with a pious person is like sitting in the company of one who sells (the fragrance) Musk. One will smell the good fragrance just by sitting with him, even if one does not apply any perfume. And sitting in a bad company is like sitting with a blacksmith from whom either a spark will fly onto your clothes and burn them or at least you will have to smell the repugnant smell.

The effect of the companionship of pious elders could be seen in my respected father. As Shaikh Sa’di RA has said:

گِلے خوش بوئے در حمّام روزے

رسید از دستِ مخدومے بہ دستم

بدو گفتم کہ مشکی یا عبیری

کہ از بوئے دل آویزِ تو مستم

بگفتا من گِلے ناچیز بُودم

و لیکن مدّتے با گُل نشستم

جمالِ ہمنشیں در من اثَر کرد

وگرنہ من ہمہ خاکم کہ ہستم

One day, in the (communal) bath,

I received a fragrant piece of mud (used as a form of soap/abrasive) from a benevolent friend

However, this independence (Ghina) should not be from Allah Ta’ala; rather even after Allah Ta’ala gives sufficient wealth we should still show our neediness to Him.

Thereafter Shaikh quoted the following Hadith:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “While Prophet Ayyub (peace be upon him) was taking a bath, naked, a large number of gold locusts fell on him. He tried to collect them in a piece of cloth, when he heard his Lord (Allah) calling him: ‘O Ayyub ! Have I not sufficed you to care for what you see (the worldly possessions)?’ Ayyub said: ‘Indeed by Your Power, but I can never do away with Your Blessings.”‘

Shaikh mentioned an incident about Baba Najam Ahsan (Allah have mercy on him) who was a pious Sahib-e-Kashf (person with frequent unveiling). Towards the end of his life he was unable to fast during Ramadan. One day he was feeling slightly better so he decided to give it a try. Later during the day he became so sick that he had to break his fast. The entire next day he was seen slapping his cheeks several times saying:

“O Allah! Please forgive me for fasting! I made a mistake!”

Shaikh explained that first it should be verified whether the Rukhsa (leeway) given in Shariah applies to a particular situation or not. If it is confirmed that Shariah has given Rukhsa (leeway) in that situation then the leeway should be acted upon wholeheartedly. We should not show our bravery in front of Allah Ta’ala.

He thereafter mentioned the following Hadith:

ما خير رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بين أمرين قط إلا أخذ أيسرهما

“Whenever the Prophet (ﷺ) was given a choice between two matters, he would (always) choose the easier one”

He added that when we act upon a leeway the intention behind it is ease and comfort, but when the Noble Messenger (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) acted upon an easier option it was to display his abdiyat (slave-hood) towards Allah Ta’ala.

“During my early days of studying in Darul Uloom, the the Darul Uloom was located so far away from the city center that it was like an island cut off from the rest of the world. I would go home on Thursdays, which used to be holiday. Our house had 5 rooms out of which 2 contained cupboards filled with books. My holiday routine was to browse through those books. I would open a book, read a few pages then move on to another book. For some books I would only read the author’s name and few pages, some I would read half and some books complete. All praise is for Allah (Alhamdulillah) I read all kinds of books, including about Seerah, Tasawwuf, etc. After reading all those books I say from the depth of my heart that the books which benefited me most were the Spiritual discourses (Mawaiz) of Hakim al Umma Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (Allah have mercy on him).

My respected father used to encourage me to read the Mawaiz but initially I used to be more interested in literary texts. Also, I would find the language of the Mawaiz too difficult and sophisticated. It wasn’t that I would not understand the language, but I would find it too sophisticated for my taste. I would read them sometimes, but would not find them interesting.

One day I told my respected father the following state of my heart: “Among my elders, the amount of affinity and fondness I find in my heart for respected Shaykh al-Hind (i.e. Maulana Mahmudul Hasan) and Maulana Anwar Shah Sahab Kashmiri is more than for Hakim Al Umma (Allah have mercy on them)”.

It is obvious that all of them are our elders. However, it seemed as if my respected father felt a shock, and replied, (to the near meaning):

“Taqi miyan (میاں), you are still stuck in the knowledge of alfaz-o-nuqoosh (words and designs). You have not even started to have the concern for correction (islah) of your nafs.” He said this with a sense of longing and regret. This is despite my respected father’s deep attachment to those two elders.

When my respected father said these words, it had effect on me and I started reading Hakim al Umma’s Mawaiz with importance. Later on, when I established Islahi correspondence with respected (Shaikh Dr Abdul-Hayy) ‘Arifi (Allah have mercy on him) he instructed me to fix 1 to 2 pages for daily reading. Alhamdulillah now perhaps there is none of the Mawaiz left which I have not read.”

Shaikh excused himself, saying Hakim al Umma Thanwi (Allah have mercy on him) would excuse himself from offering advice related to worldly matters. He would say that you can ask me whether something is permissible or impermissible in Shariah, but don’t ask me whether I should do this or that.

Shaikh related that once someone asked him for advice and, with many related details and conditions. Advice was given to him. This individual later went around telling people that I am doing this with Shaikh’s orders, to the extent that he said the same to Shaikh himself, i.e. I did this with your explicit command.

Soon after, Shaikh clarified to this seeker (who presented the letter), probably to allay his fear that his Shaykh is displeased with him, that this reply does not mean that I am angry with you, rather advice regarding these matters requires detailed knowledge about the matter, the individual’s temperament, preferences, etc, so I’m not in a position to give correct advice.

Shaikh asked him regarding his activities. He replied that he manages two Madrasas, teaches three advanced books, writes Fatwa, and is also the Imam and Khateeb of the biggest Masjid of his country.

Shaikh commented that this is a lot of responsibilities and all are Deen. Even with this busy daily schedule, some time (whatever easily possible) should be taken out for seclusion (Khalwatma’ Allah). (That is being alone with Allah.)